1. Field of the Invention
The subject invention relates to brochures, such as those used to promote pharmaceutical products. The brochure is provided with product information sheet removably adhered to a face of the brochure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Manufacturing companies, and particularly pharmaceutical companies, devote substantial amounts of time, effort and money to promote their products. Brochures are one common vehicle for promoting such products. A substantial amount of creative effort is invested in the design, layout and production of a brochure. A typical brochure will be printed in multiple colors on a glossy paper or paper board. The brochure will include text and graphics to summarize uses and attributes for the product in an effort to develop consumer interest. Pharmaceutical products, in particular, may include text and graphics to convince doctors and other people in the medical profession that a particular pharmaceutical product has attributes that should be considered favorably by the targeted purchaser.
Some manufacturers are obligated to provide very detailed information with certain of their products or with any advertisements for such products. This requirement is particularly common in the pharmaceutical industry. For example, pharmaceutical companies invariably package and promote their products with extensive product information to identify ingredients and intended uses. Such information might also include disclaimers to identify possible adverse effects and to identify certain classes of consumers who should not use the pharmaceutical products or who should be carefully monitored during use. Some such information is dictated by law. Other such information is dictated or suggested by product liability attorneys who represent the manufacturer.
The packaging in which the pharmaceutical product is sold typically is not large enough to encompass all of the required product information, disclaimers, warnings and recommended uses. As a result, many pharmaceutical products are sold with an extended content label or product information sheet that is attached to the container of the pharmaceutical product or inserted into the package for the product. In some situations the extended content label may be removably secured to the product or to the product packaging.
Extensive product information disclaimers, warnings and recommended uses also typically are required to be incorporated into brochures that are used to introduce or promote a pharmaceutical product. The extensive text and disclaimers required for such product information sheets will have a substantial adverse effect on the aesthetic appearance of the brochure that is carefully designed to promote the product. Accordingly, most manufacturers of pharmaceutical products will design the brochure to include a pocket in which the product information sheet is removably stored. The product information sheet in the pocket complies with legal or regulatory requirements and generally is accepted by the product liability law counselors for the pharmaceutical company. However, this prior art approach adds significantly to the cost of the brochure and can adversely affect the aesthetics. For example, the pocket typically requires an additional flap of the expensive colored glossy paper or paper board material, and hence can add as much as 50% to the raw material costs of the brochure. Furthermore, the pocket typically requires a careful gluing of the expensive paper or paper board material, and the gluing typically adds to the production costs. The production of the brochure with the pocket is only part of the additional cost. In particular, the product information sheet typically must be inserted manually into the pocket of the brochure. This manual insertion of the product information sheet into the prior art brochure requires a very substantial increase in labor costs.
One such prior art brochure is shown schematically in FIGS. 1-3 and is identified generally by the numeral 10. Prior art brochure 10 is formed from a blank of glossy paper board material 12 that is cut and scored to define the rear panel 14, a front panel 16 and an inside panel 18. The side glue flap 20 extends from the longitudinal side of the inside panel 18 opposite the front panel 16 and a bottom glue flap 22 extends from the bottom of the inside panel 18. The side glue flap 20 is adhered to the inner surface of the front panel 16 adjacent the foldable connection to the rear panel 14. The bottom glue flap 22 is adhered to the inner surface of the front panel 16 adjacent the bottom thereof. As a result, a pocket is defined in the brochure between the front panel 16 and the inside panel 18. The pocket is accessible along the open top between the front panel 16 and the inside panel 18. Indicia 23 in proximity to the open top may include an appropriate legend, such as "Prescribing Information".
The product information sheet is identified by the numeral 24 and is manually inserted into the open top and between the front panel 16 and the inside panel 18.
It will be appreciated that the inside panel 18 is provided only to create the pocket to receive the product information sheet 24. The material printed on the inside panel would otherwise be printable directly on the inner face of the front panel 16. It will further be appreciated that the requirement for the inside panel 18 adds approximately 50% to the raw material costs for the brochure 10. High quality glossy paper board used for such brochures is expensive. Furthermore, the careful gluing of the side glue flap 20 and the bottom glue flap 22 adds to manufacturing costs. Additionally, as noted above, the manual insertion of the product information sheet 24 adds to labor costs.
In view of the above, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a brochure that can provide extended product information with a minimum investment in raw materials for the brochure. It is a further object of the subject invention to minimize the expensive and careful gluing required to create a pocketed brochure. It is still another object of the invention to provide a brochure that can be produced with minimal required manual labor.